I am so confused I don't even know where to start. I read the sticky and it said read all posts before you post and then I got more confused.
I am an ex collegiate tennis player. I was once in really good shape. like most of us life gets busy and I have neglected my fitness for a few years and would like to shed a few pounds.
I decided to follow the program that my ex-coach gave us for weight training and court conditioning since it got me in really good shape. our coach made us do hang clean, power clean, push press, bench press, deadlift, rows, squats, single leg squats, lunges, etc we also did injury prevention lifts like core work, wrist curls and balance stuff. we followed a periodized program (at least that is what the workout book says he gave us) where we went from periods of training and different exercises.I still have this book and plan on following it.
We also had plyometric and speed and agility training. I know i am not ready for the plyometric and speed training but I would like to work my way up to it.
here is where it gets confusing. I joined a gym and they assigned me a personal trainer. When asked about my goals I specifically said fat loss. He has me doing long slow paced cardiovascular work on a treadmill (boring). According to him this is the best way to rid the body of fat. I sorta disagreed because our previous training had us all with low levels of body fat and our coach forbid us to do any cardiovascular distance training. I did a search and everyone seems to in disagreement.
My basic question, and i'm sorry for taking so much space to ask, is which is more appropriate? i'm going to follow our coach's strength workout plan. but what accesory work should I do to prepare my body for plyometric and speed training to accompany this...
I am so confused I don't even know where to start. I read the sticky and it said read all posts before you post and then I got more confused.
I am an ex collegiate tennis player. I was once in really good shape. like most of us life gets busy and I have neglected my fitness for a few years and would like to shed a few pounds.
I decided to follow the program that my ex-coach gave us for weight training and court conditioning since it got me in really good shape. our coach made us do hang clean, power clean, push press, bench press, deadlift, rows, squats, single leg squats, lunges, etc we also did injury prevention lifts like core work, wrist curls and balance stuff. we followed a periodized program (at least that is what the workout book says he gave us) where we went from periods of training and different exercises.I still have this book and plan on following it.
We also had plyometric and speed and agility training. I know i am not ready for the plyometric and speed training but I would like to work my way up to it.
here is where it gets confusing. I joined a gym and they assigned me a personal trainer. When asked about my goals I specifically said fat loss. He has me doing long slow paced cardiovascular work on a treadmill (boring). According to him this is the best way to rid the body of fat. I sorta disagreed because our previous training had us all with low levels of body fat and our coach forbid us to do any cardiovascular distance training. I did a search and everyone seems to in disagreement.
My basic question, and i'm sorry for taking so much space to ask, is which is more appropriate? i'm going to follow our coach's strength workout plan. but what accesory work should I do to prepare my body for plyometric and speed training to accompany this...
thanks?
90% of the "trainers" at commercial gyms know very little about real training and setting up appropriate and specific goals for individuals. A friend of mine put it this way, "90% of trainers suck donkey balls when it comes to training." As far as I have seen it hold true.
There is a ton of excellent information here about good solid programs and for fat loss, strength gain, maintenance, core development, and all the rest.
My two personal favorites at this point in time that give you a straight up no bullshit approach to lifting and losing weight are Alan Aragon and Lyle Mcdonald. They have their own websites if your interested. Look them up and do some research if you follow some of their programs and programing you will get the results you are looking for. Alan and Lyle know their shit and do a damn good job of backing it up with plenty of people who can show those results.
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
I decided to follow the program that my ex-coach gave us for weight training and court conditioning since it got me in really good shape. our coach made us do hang clean, power clean, push press, bench press, deadlift, rows, squats, single leg squats, lunges, etc we also did injury prevention lifts like core work, wrist curls and balance stuff. we followed a periodized program ...I joined a gym and they assigned me a personal trainer. When asked about my goals I specifically said fat loss. He has me doing long slow paced cardiovascular work on a treadmill (boring). According to him this is the best way to rid the body of fat. ...
The problem is that training competitive athletes and general fat-loss clients isn't the same thing, at least at the beginning. For example, you can't take your average fat-loss client and give them hang cleans and power cleans on day one. They need an long on-ramp for that.
I would simply make the trainer aware of your background. Sounds like he's giving you a generic program that starts with building an aerobic base. Let him know you can handle some lifting, too.
Are you paying extra for this personal trainer? If so, it doesn't sound like money well spent. It sounds as if your ex-coach's program would work better for you, and with your past experience you probably don't need a trainer (although a training partner might be a good idea).
Long slow cardio has been shown to help with fat loss. A lot of people have lost weight by just starting walking programs. However, this doesn't sound like the right thing for you. The trainer probably just has some canned approach that he applies to everyone. If the goal is fat loss, then put them on a long slow cardio program. If running long and slow on a treadmill is boring for you, then you won't stick with it anyway. I hate steady state cardio on a stationary machine, but intervals on a treadmill or a spinning class provide enough variety that I can enjoy them.
Fat loss really comes down to diet. You need to eat fewer calories than you burn, or basically eat less and move more. For some folks, the cardio work burns more calories and helps them achieve their goals. For others, it makes them hungrier and more likely to fail. You need to figure out what works for you. My recommendation would be to follow your ex-coach's strength training program and eat as cleanly as possible. Avoid processed foods, fried foods, sugar, corn syrup, and trans fats. Try to limit most carbs to whole grains, and eats lots of veggies and some quality low-fat protein. Get healthy fats from olive oil and fish oil. If you do this, you probably won't have to hassle with counting calories, weighing your food, etc.
Sounds like you had a very progressive coach. Stick with the program he gave you and ditch the personal trainer at the gym. If you're proficient in all of the lifts you mentioned, you don't need someone to put you on a treadmill. If the PT does have some knowledge regarding those lifts, have him help you with technique to re-familiarize with those moves, and help prevent injury. Check out this article - The Hierarchy of Fat Loss: http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_a...hy_of_fat_loss
I really appreciate everyone's time for responding to this question.thanks so much. This is starting to clear things up for me. At first, I thought I was on the right track. Then everyone was telling me to jog, eliptical etc. Then I started asking around and everyone said the same thing. "gotta do cardio". it never made sense. I guess my qestion is why is everyone so hell bent on doing Cardio?
Jvnernachio-- If ninety percent don't know much that is a sad statement about trainers huh?
JBB-They include the training sessions as part of the initiation fee. I think it's hook line where it's free then when it expires they hope you continue with the charges.
Hunter-Our coach seemed to be very progressive. We all got pretty strong, rarely injured and had fun.. I think I like your advice. I will see if the trainer can help me with the lift technique and with the periodization. but, if you say the coach was progressive how many trainers do think actually could help?
Well cardio isn't a bad thing. Increased cardio capacity has all sorts of benefits. It adds to your GPP so that you can more readily leverage the strength you may have. Many people also have sport specific cardio goals (see something like MMA or basketball).
What cardio isn't, is the key to weight loss. JBB already mentioned it, but diet is the key to losing weight. Obviously cardio can add some to that equation, but it's impossible to out train a poor diet. Most people waaaaay overestimate the true amount of calories burned during a given cardio session.
Just for kicks I had a trainer friend of mine put me through a real 1000 calorie cardio session one time (another friend has one of those bodybug things so we had a decent counter). The intensity it required was unreal. Basically an hour of lifting and sprinting non-stop...
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"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
For fat loss, creating a deficit by either eating less and/or moving more is the only thing there is to it, but how to get there .. there's a myriad of roads. Some just prefer to starve themselves and do as little as possible, others go the opposite way and become extremely active & even eat more than they would before.. and still lose weight.
Seems like your former trainer was a great one.. but , the big Q is: would it be smart for you to reach back for a program that he had you do when you were at a supreme fitness level?
Doesn't sound like you are at this point right now.
On the bright side: you will get your fitness (strength & cardiovascular capacity) back very quickly.
Something like a mix of both would work.. start a training program that's more progressive than the current trainer wants you to do.
As for the SS-cardio: I'd reserve the boring steady state cardio for functional stuff (take stairs instead of elevator, go for a walk instead of riding your bicycle, ride your bicycle instead of taking the bus/car/train.. etc. Walk for pleasure etc.
Search for 'NEAT" & you will find a new desire to keep your house clean
For more intense cardio, opinions are mixed. If you want to do it for fitness, by all means do it. If you want to do it for fat loss, that's a two-edged sword. Some have good results with it, but there's increased evidence that most just get too hungry on it & combining a low-calorie intake with too much interval cardio is a recipe for disaster = overtraining. FEEDing HIIT/interval cardio is a must. (see my sig below)
My general rule re. exercise is "the amount of effort that you put into something equals the amount of benefits gleaned". There are some people who would insist a 20 minute interval session has benefits that outweigh a 10 Km jog (i.e. one trims fat, the other makes you skinny fat). I don't necessarily agree with that.
For weight loss, diet is more important than exercise.....but, I find if I limit my diet too much (particularly carbs), my workout suffers. I also find that intense cardio curbs the appetite. In the end, I think the best strategy for losing weight is a longterm, slow weight loss that is inevitable if one makes a lifestyle change to good food and a high fitness level.
warning: big generalizations follow (but are mostly true)
Training is for fitness.
Diet is for fat loss.
Fat loss is 90+% about diet and what you do the 23 hours a day that you aren't working out.
If you train so hard and/or diet so hard that your 23 hours are spent recovering on the couch it is better to back off some and return to taking long walks with the dog, cleaning the house and adding other non-fitness activities to your day.
warning: big generalizations follow (but are mostly true)
Training is for fitness.
Diet is for fat loss.
Fat loss is 90+% about diet and what you do the 23 hours a day that you aren't working out.
If you train so hard and/or diet so hard that your 23 hours are spent recovering on the couch it is better to back off some and return to taking long walks with the dog, cleaning the house and adding other non-fitness activities to your day.
What every has said is true ~~ You lose weight in the kitchen.
I have been here, trying to lose weight for about 4-5 months. I have lost more weight this month than I have any other previous month, and that is with cutting back on my lifting dramatically.
What is the difference? I have a digital food scale and I've been weighing all my food to make sure the calories are accurate. Simple as that, just tighter monitoring of intake.
I am still exercising three times a week, but a lot of times, I just do an hour walk on the hills around my house. I am staying in the gym enough to keep my strength levels the same and make sure that I don't go backwards, but ultimately I am focusing on my diet.
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If you weren't born drop dead gorgeous, be thankful for the opportunity to develop character first.
That's the ultimate secret: pick your goals first.. if you want fat loss most of all, the rest has to follow = not train so hard & eat so little that you are too exhausted for the remaining hours of the day , so that in the end you overtrain because of undereating.
If you want both fat loss & performance, you can't have a too large deficit and have to train & eat smartly. (is that a word?)
New To this forum and really confused
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